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Steffen Schmidt - July 12, 2023
Tobol Kostanay vs Honka
UEFA Conference League Qualification
Date: 13 July 2023, Thursday
Kick-off at 16:00 UK / 17:00 CET
Venue: Ortaliq Stadion (Kostanay).
Honka return to UEFA Europa Conference League after missing out on the continental journey last year.
They will begin the 2023/24 adventures on Thursday afternoon with the trip to Kazakhstan and the clash against Tobol Kostanay.
Honka are underdogs ahead of the first leg on Kazakh soil. They were in action on Saturday, losing 1-0 in the Veikkausliiga derby to leaders SJK.
It was the first loss in the last seven outings across competitions for Vesa Vasara’s troops who rely heavily on their stern defensive line.
Honka play defensive-minded football under Vasara. They scored 13 and conceded 14 goals in 16 domestic league matches this year and currently hold the fifth place with 5 wins in 15 Veikkausliiga affairs.
Tobol have not been in a much better scoring mood either this year. They are 6th in the Kazakh Premier League standings with 7 wins in 14 games played.
The team led by Serbian manager Milic Curcic notched only three goals in the last five matches in all competitions.
We have seen fewer than two goals in four of the last five games Tobol played in all competitions, a run that includes two separate 1-0 wins over Atyrau in the Kazakh Cup semifinal.
It is also worth noting that Tobol played four tight games against Lincoln Red Imps and Zrinjski Mostar last year in the Conference League, each of which ended with fewer than three goals scored.
This should be a tight and low-scoring match based on everything we know about these two outfits. We’ve seen Under 1.5 goals pick landing in four of Tobol’s previous five games in all competitions, while Honka have a goal difference of 13-14 in 16 Veikkausliiga affairs this year.
The Under 2.5 goals FT pick is well worth backing at the 1.85 odds. Also, looking at the odds, we have to take Honka to win or draw double chance bet at 2.10 in these circumstances.
